Amazon is known for having excellent customer service. It's their own employees that they don't respect.Is the implication than that BestBuy, Wal-mart, and Amazon respect us as customers?
It's very annoying when what should be a simple 1 minute transaction gets dragged out to 15 minutes because of stuff like that. I get it's not the fault of the staff but it's still a very annoying experience and one that means I actually buy a game in Game once every few years at most. If I knew I could just walk in and buy what I wanted and leave I'd shop there more often. It's a terrible shopping experience.Remember that these people live and die in corporate's eyes depending on how many pre-orders and insurance things they sell. They're usually cool people that are fine with you just saying no thanks. No need to get annoyed.
This is factually inaccurate. GameStop does not sell used games as new.I think selling used games as new counts as being disrespectful to customers. I don't know if things would change for the company if that stopped happening, but I can say that I would start shopping there again.
This is factually inaccurate. GameStop does not sell used games as new.
This is factually inaccurate. GameStop does not sell used games as new.
Gamestop overall is no different than most retailers. It obviously gets more attention in here since is gaming related, but their ways to upsell, "bother people" with credit cards and subscriptions, and so on.
But is like someone mentioned long ago: Gamestop gets more mentions around simply because many gamers are not social. So anything that involves going out of that comfort zone, forcing them as customers having to talk, demand or just say no makes them uncomfortable.
The many examples in here and other forums of people buying something from Gamestop, not liking it (not wrapped, damaged, wrong item, etc) and instead of complaining in the store, returning home, complain about it online, ask for suggestions all while talking about how they had their worse customer experience.
There are many things that suck at Gamestop, but in general is no different than others. Many of the things are out of their hands even. People complain about the famous "gutted copies" , but publishers rarely if never send any display copies. So same way other retailers have to open refrigerators, headsets, speakers to "show them" they have to fo the same. And they won't spend millions in printing/making display copies, neither more millions to redesign their entire stores so that every game is behind a display case.
tl;dr - Stores like Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon and Target have been just as good as GameStop ever since the decline in the used games market.
Others have already responded, but I'll just reiterate that that's a load of horseshit.This is factually inaccurate. GameStop does not sell used games as new.
Yeah, I used to prefer them because they were more likely to stock niche jrpgs and other niche games I enjoyed. That said this has become pretty much irrelevant in the age of online and digitalNot for me. They have always been a great option for me in terms of having a local option for older, previous-gen games that are no longer available at the other retail stores
(or were never there to begin with). It was extremely convenient to be able to go through individual store inventory online, and place an order that would be pulled and set aside for me to pickup. Sure I'll still have access to older titles through eBay and Amazon, but neither one of those will I be able to pickup same day, and I'll not be able to evaluate the condition of the disc(s) themselves, nor be able to determine whether it "complete" with case and manual if the seller does not include this themselves, and in the event the disc isn't completely functional I'll have to mail it back instead of just dropping it off for a swap.
I recognize my use of their store probably doesn't mirror the majority of gamebuyers, and for many the inconvenience of not being able to evaluate goods before payment isn't significant enough to make them hesitant about buying from internet stores. Regardless, I'll miss my periodic raids of my local stores when the inevitable does come to pass.
The target game section is almost always an awful experience. I've yet to go to a Target that actually cared about it. Best Buy has gotten considerably better Mostly by shafting their movie sections around in favor of games and game related goods.Disclosure: I've made a ton of money shorting GameStop (GME) and am still short
Ultimately, the big problem with GameStop is "what's the value of a dedicated gaming store?" Is GameStop such a better experience than buying video games at Walmart, Target, or Best Buy? What value does GameStop really bring to the table?
The answer used to be "used games." The used game economy was just incredible for GameStop. Where a new $60 game brought in a $12 contribution (the retailer's cut), used games could bring in $30-$40 contributions. At one point during my time shorting GameStop, I became convinced they were selling "new" games as "used" to try to get people back in the habit of buying used games.
But the used game value prop has been shot by both the transition to digital and the aggressive sales and marketing from publishers. I forget which game, but some AAA game last year was already 33% off within its launch month. Sales like that cut deeply into GameStop.
I am sure we'll have physical game discs for a long, long, long time. We still have physical CDs and DVDs in Target/Walmart. I'm sure games will be there for a long while.
tl;dr - Stores like Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon and Target have been just as good as GameStop ever since the decline in the used games market.
I'm sorry, I should have been more clear. Yes, at GameStop they use a copy of a new game as a display case, which I completely agree is wrong. They also print sleeves for cases all the time and should use those as display cases, not gutted copies. It's something I tried to do when I was a manager there, but alas, I didn't get the approval.I stopped going regularly over a decade ago. I had two experiences where my pre-order bonuses were 1) not given to me, and I was told that they just didn't get them, too bad for me and 2) where a box had been opened and the CD soundtrack wasn't there (box looked like it hadn't been opened. Another time, at a different store, I asked for a game, and the rep walked over to the shelf, grabbed the box, then grabbed the disc from a drawer behind the register and told me it was new, despite doing what they just did.
I feel for the employees, but they simply weren't honest.
Yeah it's never happened, despite people sharing that it's actually happened. Frame it however you want, if a representative of the store sells an open product as new, then that's what happened, full stop. I didn't have to skim two pages into the thread to see one account, and it's been pushed on me, too.
I am extremely familiar with this system, I was a manager at a GameStop in central Texas from 2014-2016. I get it, it's lame to push that as a brand new product, which no one ever does. They'll tell you it's new, but at least all of my coworkers, colleagues, and employees always told the "guest" (ugh) the condition the product was in. And guess what? If someone complained, GameStop will discount the product 10%. I know it's not a lot, but if you choose not to buy it at that point, then that's totally your choice as a consumer. I personally wouldn't and still won't buy the gutted copies, so I get it.If you buy the last "new" copy of a game, it will be the open display box. The discs are kept in sleeves in a drawer. That's already stretching consumer expectations for "new". Beyond that, the buyer has no way of knowing that Gamestop staff don't take those discs home with them.
Thanks, but the point I was making was that GameStop will never purchase a game from a customer for trade in and then sell it as new. If this has happened to you, report it. Their NPS rating are literally what keeps a store and it's employees alive.Others have already responded, but I'll just reiterate that that's a load of horseshit.
Exactly. It's already a nightmare situation when someone finds a copy of a game they want when it's fallen out of your inventory somewhere. It would only be worse if it happened with new games too.to not gut A copy of their last game would result in even more inventory shenanigans than already exist. it's not feasible to have a dummy box for every game you have in stock.
Some stores, some games. My store did not allow checkouts, and our District manager was against it, too. I understand this is not the case for everyone, but the idea that every new game that gets released is taken home by an employee is the same as thinking that every single game that gets packaged gets played by someone in manufacturing.he's calling you out because employees can and do check out new games. whether a game is played by a trade customer or an employee doesn't matter in regards to it being used.
My friend that used to work there told me they used to do it all the time.If you buy the last "new" copy of a game, it will be the open display box. The discs are kept in sleeves in a drawer. That's already stretching consumer expectations for "new". Beyond that, the buyer has no way of knowing that Gamestop staff don't take those discs home with them.
This is a key point and one of the primary reasons Gamestop is widely considered to be one of the worst companies to work for — They require you to put forth a commission-based sales performance for minimum wage with zero commission. Lol. Upsells, pre-orders, warranties, etc etc etc etc etc.Gamestops major issue seems to be that they hire order takers but want salespeople. Pay more than minimum wage and then you might be competitive with people who can make qualified sales.
It's infuriating that people trot out this complaint every time GameStop comes up. It's company policy to offer a shopworn discount to guests who are not happy about being sold the gut, and even if that's still not acceptable for you, nobody is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to shop at GameStop. There are plenty of others options.Why is complaining about a gutted copy wrong?If I can't open something in the store and then right there return it as unused you shouldn't be able to sell it opened.
Especially knowing for a fact sometimes those copies do get used by employees.
I wanted to buy Bayonetta, it was 1 or 2 years old at the time. I was asked if I want a used copy for $10 less. I said no. The copy they gave me came out of a sleeve and had several noticable light scratches on it. "I said I wanted new." "That is new. Take it or leave it."Some stores, some games. My store did not allow checkouts, and our District manager was against it, too. I understand this is not the case for everyone, but the idea that every new game that gets released is taken home by an employee is the same as thinking that every single game that gets packaged gets played by someone in manufacturing.
I understand it's not literally the same thing, but come on.